Shameful penny-pinching is betraying PSNI as assaults increase and officer numbers dwindle: Police Federation
The “shameful penny-pinching” of police paymasters has left the PSNI in crisis with “wholly inadequate” staffing levels, according to the police federation (PFNI).
In his keynote speech at the PFNI annual conference yesterday, chairman Liam Kelly said urgent action was needed as the PSNI faces the “deepest resourcing crisis since its inception” in 2001.
Delegates heard that officer numbers were sliding towards a previously unthinkable level of 6,000 – compared to the 8,500 required to provide an effective service.
Mr Kelly said the total number of officers employed this month is 6,379 – a “mere 21 ahead of what the chief constable said was his line in the sand for keeping people safe”.
In a wide-ranging address, Mr Kelly also highlighted the growing number of assaults on officers, the “undermining of services to the general public” and inordinate delays in dealing with complaint investigations.
“We will not stop until we convince the government and the [NI] Executive to end their shameful, penny-pinching betrayal of policing in Northern Ireland and, more specifically, the men and women of the PSNI who put themselves in harm’s way every day for the benefit of our society.”
Mr Kelly warned of an £80 million deficit in the PSNI budget which would mean the organisation would again have to “drastically pare back services.”
He added: “There is an abject failure to properly fund and resource policing. We felt we earned the right to expect something better from our newly restored devolved institutions.
“That was misplaced confidence on our part. Not even having the ability to stand still is a recipe for disaster for the service. Right now, we are in the deepest resourcing crisis since the formation of the PSNI in 2001.”
Mr Kelly also said that a lack of support from Stormont meant the PFNI would have to “take the fight for a meaningful budget” to London.
“We are being decimated numerically and that the money that’s allocated is insufficient,” he said.
“At the rate of departures we are seeing right now, without urgent financial additionality we will slide towards 6,000 officers by either the end of this year or by the end of the current financial year.”
Mr Kelly went on to say that the damage being done to policing is “dangerous and irresponsible,” and added: “We are being asked to do the impossible. Regrettably, it’s taking a heavy toll on our colleagues who are working flat out in the most trying of circumstances. Our paymasters are sleep-walking into trouble.”
Commenting on disciplinary matters, Mr Kelly told delegates that both the Police Ombudsman’s Office and the PSNI Professional Standards Department were taking inordinate lengths of time to complete investigations which had a detrimental impact.
And he said there was also a worrying backlog of officers seeking professional psychological help and pointed to a chasm between rank-and-file and officers who lead the service.
“There remains a fear culture that the discipline pathway is more likely, particularly for junior officers, than any tangible senior management support. We need our leadership to back officers, not break them.”
The PFNI chair said there had been 3,346 assaults notified in 2022/23. Of that total, 979 involved injury to officers – an increase of 7.6% on the previous year. The injury total is up 55% on the 2018/19 figures.